There are certain things successful real estate agents do, but almost as important are the things they make sure they don’t do. Hopefully you aren’t guilty of any of these five marketing mistakes. If you are, fix them! It’s all in your control. Check out the following list and make sure your marketing tactics are up to snuff.
1. Having a full voicemail box
You’ve spent lots of time, energy, and money to build your brand, market yourself, get your name out there – generating business and getting listings. It’s finally come to fruition and out of all the houses and all the agents, a hot buyer wants to talk to you. They’re actually sitting in their car in front of one of your listings right now. They just know they’re going to love it, and they want you to get them in. They excitedly dial your number, and… “We’re sorry, this voicemail box is full.” Click. Seriously? Confused, they search for the house on the Zillow app, and call whichever agent has paid enough to show up at the top. WHAT JUST HAPPENED!? As half your commission quickly circles the drain and disappears, you realize not taking 30 seconds to delete some voicemail has cost you a few grand. Probably shouldn’t let that happen again… Here’s a quick article on how to save your voicemails as notes, voice memos, or send them to yourself in e-mail, so you can clear out your voicemail box.
http://www.idownloadblog.com/2015/10/02/how-to-share-voicemails-iphone/
Doing it this way won’t work:
2. Forgetting to include your contact info…anywhere
You know the warning label on your dryer that says not to put a person in it? Unnecessary, right? Apparently not, or it wouldn’t be there. Including your contact info for potential clients seems like such a no-brainer that I hesitated to put it in this post…but I’ve seen it firsthand enough times that it needs to be addressed. I’ve seen agents fail to include their full contact info in their e-mail signature, social profiles, and even on their website. I was driving down the interstate recently, and saw a billboard for a local real estate company that had no contact information on it at all. No website address, no phone number, no e-mail, nothing. It’s like the time I hooked up an old fishing lure and wondered why the fish weren’t biting, only to realize it didn’t have a hook on it. Oops. Trust me, the fish aren’t going to jump into your boat. If someone sees something from your company, but they have no way of contacting you, it’s all a waste.
When someone gets your postcard and it doesn’t have a phone number:
3. Expecting huge returns from little-to-no effort
I recently decided to tackle a few home maintenance projects that I had been putting off for a while. My main goal was to fix the leaky shower in our master bath. Not being a natural handy-man, I did some research online to make sure I knew which tools and parts I needed to get the job done. I hurried to Lowe’s, picked everything out, paid, and headed home. I immediately went to the master bath and set the tools and parts on the counter by the sink. Then I did something else. I don’t even remember what. Pretty soon, I kind of forgot about the whole “fix-the-shower” thing. Over the next week, each time I saw the shower leaking, I’d look over at the unopened tools and think, “I should really open those and try to fix this thing.” But I didn’t think, “Why in the world is the shower still leaking?! I bought the parts and the tools that should make it stop!” That would be crazy. I understood that buying the tools and parts was pointless unless I opened them, put in some effort, and actually used them. It seems obvious, but you’d be shocked how often people pay for marketing solutions, never log into them, never update their website, never share links to their content, and then wonder why they aren’t generating any leads. It’s like buying a gym membership, never going, and complaining about being out of shape. If you want to execute good marketing plans, generate leads, and grow your business, it’s going to take a focused effort on your part. The good news is, you can absolutely do it, and tools like Pipeline ROI make it much easier and faster. And yes, eventually I fixed the shower.
This isn’t usually how it happens:
4. Ignoring marketing when times are good
I love donuts. Always have, always will. When I was younger, I could eat them almost every day and never gain a pound. I was lucky to have a high metabolism and be active enough in sports that I didn’t ever have to think about “trying to stay in shape.” But I remember older people telling me to enjoy it while it lasted, because one day it would catch up to me. I shrugged it off at the time, but recently I’ve realized they were absolutely right! When the busy season of real estate is in full swing, your phone is ringing off the hook, e-mails are coming in faster than you can respond, and you’re working multiple deals, it’s easy to ignore the fact that things won’t be like this forever. But if you neglect your marketing during busy season, the slow months are going to be so much slower than they should be. If you make sure to put solutions in place that consistently generate leads and nurture your contacts, you can keep business steady year-round. Check out this post to learn how. https://www.pipelineroi.com/blog/prepare-for-the-slow-real-estate-season-with-these-tips/
It can’t last forever:
5. Not having a user-friendly, mobile-responsive website
Internet usage continues to rise on mobile devices, and a good user experience is absolutely expected when people search for information. If your current website isn’t mobile-responsive, potential clients are going to hit your site on a mobile device, get frustrated, and immediately go somewhere else. It’s crucial to display engaging content, contact info, listings, testimonials, etc. in a way that’s tailored to the device a visitor is using. If you don’t know what your site looks like on a mobile device, it’s time to find out. Either check it out on your own smartphone and/or tablet, or ask Google by putting in your website URL here: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly
Your visitors when your website doesn’t work well on their mobile device:
Sometimes, we just don’t think about how we’re marketing our business and presenting it to potential customers. If we let these little mistakes go on long enough, they start blending in with their surroundings and stop seeming so wrong. You should consistently perform routine check-ups on your website and social media so that they aren’t collecting cobwebs. That way, you can start focusing on the things you need to do, instead of the things you need to make sure you aren’t doing.
At Pipeline ROI, we pride ourselves on providing real estate pros with everything they need to successfully market their business with our specifically-designed tools, tips, and training. If it’s time for you to re-assess your marketing, we’d love to help. Give us a call at 1-866-300-1550, or click below to get a free demo of our complete inbound marketing platform.
